Of course, the members of the eldest branch might have had complaints, but since Yu Laoda stayed silent and neither Yu Qin nor Yu Jingzong understood the implications, only Chen Shi seemed to mind. Unfortunately for her, no one was willing to help her.
She felt deeply upset. If her eldest and second sons had been present, they would have spoken up on her behalf. Perhaps Elder Yu, out of affection for them, would have shown favoritism to the eldest branch. Even the village head might have turned a blind eye to a bit of partiality, given that Jingde and Jingli were scholars.
After confirming the opinions of the various branches in the Yu family and seeing that none objected, the village head wrote a formal family division document. The document detailed how much money and grain each of Elder Yu’s three sons would provide annually for their parents’ support.
Such arrangements were customary in the village. The village head wrote them down directly to prevent any instances of elderly parents making unreasonable demands, such as exorbitant amounts of money or grain.
After all, the family’s resources were limited. No one could starve themselves or their children just to support their parents.
The village head made several copies of the document, one for each branch of the Yu family and one for the village head’s records.
With that, the division of the family was complete.
The village head and Fifth Uncle left with their copy of the document.
Fifth Uncle, being older, was the last to leave. He glanced at Yu Laoda, who sat silently, and said to Elder Yu, “Today’s family division was fair. In the future, don’t show too much favoritism. Since the family is now divided, it should look like it’s divided.”
Although Fifth Uncle was old, he wasn’t blind to the situation.
The atmosphere during the Yu family’s division was peculiar, and the sudden decision to divide the family was even stranger. Although he didn’t know the reason, he could sense that Elder Yu and Yu Laoda weren’t truly willing to divide the family.
He only hoped that Elder Yu wouldn’t regret it in the future and end up doing something disruptive.
Elder Yu’s face remained stiff as he said, “Don’t worry, Fifth Uncle. I understand.”
“That’s good.”
Fifth Uncle didn’t say anything further and leisurely walked away.
The gate of the Yu family’s courtyard was wide open, and outside, many villagers were peeking in, craning their necks over the walls to eavesdrop.
Only now did they finally understand what had happened at the Yu family today—it was a family division!
What? The Yu family actually divided their family?!!
The crowd was stunned. They had never expected the Yu family to split up while Elder Yu and his wife were still alive.
There had never been any rumors of a family division in the Yu family before.
When they heard that the division had been incredibly fair, they were even more shocked.
It was no wonder. In the past, Elder Yu and his wife’s favoritism toward the eldest branch had been so blatant that everyone assumed if the Yu family ever divided, the eldest branch would surely receive preferential treatment.
Aunt Guihua and others who had been hoping to see the Yu family make a fool of themselves were visibly disappointed.
She muttered, “That old man and his wife from the Yu family never seemed like fair people. How did they suddenly become so fair in the division of their family?”
Truly boring.
—
After witnessing the Yu family’s division, Yu Li was ready to leave.
She had no complaints about the division—it was overall fair. As for whether Elder Yu and his wife might have hidden some silver, she didn’t care to intervene.
They were old, and it was normal for them to want to keep some money for themselves. As long as they didn’t flaunt it in front of her, she wasn’t someone who felt the need to meddle in everything.
Yu Jin and her sisters were overjoyed.
Suppressing the smiles on their faces, they escorted Yu Li to the gate.
“Big Sister, once we’ve sorted everything out in the next few days, you must come to our place. I’ll make you something delicious,” Yu Jin said happily.
Now that the family had been divided, each branch would cook for themselves. They could eat whatever they wanted without needing to go to the old lady to ask for grain, enduring her scolding and dirty looks. Eating even one extra grain of rice would no longer result in being called a glutton reincarnated.
Though the Yu family’s branches still lived in their respective rooms, the shared kitchen could no longer be used. The current kitchen would remain with Elder Yu and his wife. If the other branches wanted to cook, they would have to build their own.
The second branch’s west wing was the most remote part of the Yu family’s property, but it had ample unused space. They could build a simple shed next to it to set up a kitchen.
In contrast, the eldest and third branches, which were adjacent to the main house, had limited space. If they wanted to cook, they would need to build their stove further east.
Of course, only the third branch needed this arrangement, as Elder Yu and his wife had already stated they would live with the eldest branch and rely on them for their elder care.
This meant the eldest branch could use the existing kitchen.
Yu Yin and Yu Zhu looked at Yu Li with shining eyes.
When they saw their eldest uncle return at noon yesterday, they had been worried that Yu Li might be punished. Who could have guessed that within just one day, the family would be divided?
After the division, they could keep the money they earned for themselves, buy whatever they wanted, and no longer have to endure the judgment of others when eating.
It was… simply wonderful!
“Big Sister, I’m so happy!” Yu Zhu exclaimed as she threw herself into Yu Li’s arms, hugging her waist tightly and pressing her face against her. “Big Sister, come back anytime you want. We’ll make you something delicious!”
She loved her eldest sister the most and hoped that her eldest sister would always have enough to eat.
She also wished that none of them as sisters would ever have to go hungry again.
Yu Li patted her head and said, “I’ll bring you delicious food too.”
Now that she had a job in the county and no shortage of meat, she naturally wanted to share some with her younger sisters.
Previously, because the family hadn’t been divided, she was reluctant to bring food. Even if she did, it was only after the Yu family had finished their dinner, sneaking some to the west wing for her sisters to try. Now, there was no need to hold back. Even if the second branch ate meat every day, the others could only watch and couldn’t come and take any.
Yu Li patted each of her three sisters on the head, one by one, telling them to return to their room and organize their things. She added that if they needed anything, they could come find her at the Fu family’s residence.
The three sisters obediently nodded and stood at the door, watching her leave. Their eager expressions made them look like three little fledglings.
After she left, they happily ran to find their parents, urging them to quickly move the second branch’s share of items and set up a simple stove next to the west wing.
“Dad, hurry up!” Yu Zhu urged. “Let’s cook something delicious tonight.”
Yu Lao’er seemed a bit dazed, as if he still hadn’t fully processed what had happened. He hesitated and asked, “Jin’er, has the family really been divided?”
He turned to his second daughter, who usually had the most ideas and seemed completely unlike him or his wife.
“Of course!” Yu Jin hurriedly replied. “Come on, Dad, Mom, move the stuff quickly and set up a simple stove. Otherwise, we won’t have dinner tonight and will go hungry all day.”
By the time the division was completed, it was almost noon.
No one had the time or tools to cook, so they had to skip lunch and wait to eat dinner.
Liu Shi asked, “What about the crops in the fields…?”
She thought they would have to tend to the crops in the fields right after the division.
“The crops can wait. They won’t die if we don’t tend to them for a day,” Yu Jin said. “Come on, let’s hurry.”
Under the urging of their daughters, Yu Lao’er and his wife exchanged a glance and silently began to work.
The three Yu Jin sisters also busied themselves joyfully. Even though they were hungry and tired, it didn’t feel difficult. If they got too hungry, they could secretly eat the meat buns their eldest sister had brought that morning.
The meat buns smelled so good!
–
Over at the third branch, the atmosphere was much the same as at the second branch. Everyone was cheerful, and no one felt tired while working.
Only the eldest branch was subdued.
Even though Elder Yu had announced that after the family division, he and his wife would live with the eldest branch and rely on them for their elder care, bringing with them the land, money, and other assets allocated to them…
The eldest branch still wasn’t very happy.
Yu Laoda, in particular, couldn’t sit still for a moment.
As soon as the village head and the others left, he stood up and announced his intention to return to the county.
“Eldest, aren’t you going to rest for a while?” Old Madam Yu said with concern. “Didn’t you take two days off? You can go back to the county tomorrow.”
It was rare for her eldest son to come home, and she wanted to take the opportunity to nourish him.
Thinking about how he had knelt yesterday, Old Madam Yu felt that her son desperately needed to replenish his strength. Otherwise, how could he have knelt so easily? It must be because scholars lacked physical strength, which was why Yu Li had been able to press him down and make him kneel.
Fortunately, Yu Laoda didn’t know what his mother was thinking. Otherwise, he would have been so ashamed that he’d want to jump into the river.
He kept a stiff face and said curtly, “No need. I’ll rest in the county.” This was a place he couldn’t bear to stay in for even a moment longer, and he resolved never to return for the rest of his life.
With that, he walked straight out the door.
Chen Shi was dumbfounded.
The family had just been divided, and there were still so many matters left to handle. Yet, he just left, abandoning her and the children to deal with everything on their own?
Yu Jingzong chased after his father, yelling, “Dad, I want to go to the county with you! I don’t want to stay in the village. I want to go with you!”
Of course, Yu Laoda didn’t take Yu Jingzong with him, leaving him behind in the village.
Yu Jingzong was very unhappy about this.
Elder Yu, feeling irritated and upset from the family division, went straight to his room to rest. Only Old Madam Yu turned to Chen Shi and shouted, “Eldest daughter-in-law, it’s almost noon. Hurry up and make lunch!”
Chen Shi: “…”
In the past, cooking was something Chen Shi never had to do.
When she first married into the family, Old Madam Yu had treated her with great courtesy because she was the daughter of a scholar, sparing her from household chores. Once Liu Shi and Wang Shi entered the family, the responsibility of cooking fell to them.
Later, when the second branch’s Yu Jin and her sisters grew older, they took over the cooking.
Chen Shi only ever cooked for her husband and children while in the county. In the village, she never had to lift a finger in the kitchen.
This was a distinction that symbolized her status as someone different from the other village women.
But now, they were asking her to cook?
Chen Shi felt her earlier premonition was correct. The division of the family was indeed the most disadvantageous for the eldest branch.
Suddenly, a thought struck her. Without the second and third branches to till the land they were allocated, would she be expected to work in the fields in the future?
The mere thought made her expression freeze.